Quote of the Week

"[Y]ou might wonder why a law that works so well and does so much good is the object of so much political venom — venom that is, by the way, on full display in Justice Antonin Scalia’s dissenting opinion, with its rants against “interpretive jiggery-pokery.” But what conservatives have always feared about health reform is the possibility that it might succeed, and in so doing remind voters that sometimes government action can improve ordinary Americans’ lives.

"That’s why the right went all out to destroy the Clinton health plan in 1993, and tried to do the same to the Affordable Care Act. But Obamacare has survived, it’s here, and it’s working. The great conservative nightmare has come true. And it’s a beautiful thing."

- Paul Krugman.

If you think Krugman's "great conservative nightmare" language is a bit over the top, just look at what conservative Bill Kristol wrote back in 1993 when he argued in a memo that health care reform would be a political disaster for the GOP.

Kristol wrote over two decades ago that a successful Clinton health care bill would "relegitimize middle-class dependence for 'security' on government spending and regulation" and would "revive the reputation of the party that spends and regulates, the Democrats, as the generous protector of middle-class interests."

Paul Krugman and Bill Kristol actually agree on something. Who'da thunk it?